Ukraine needs more military help to win the war against Russia, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the WEF in Davos. It’s about the right to self-defense, which is enshrined in the UN Charter, Stoltenberg said in an SRF interview.
SRF News: Are the NATO and NATO countries putting pressure on Switzerland to allow originally Swiss weapons and ammunition to be re-exported from NATO countries?
Jens Stoltenberg: I call on all states to help provide military support to Ukraine. We have to be clear about what’s going on: It’s a war of aggression by Russia against a sovereign, democratic state in Europe.
Our military support saves lives.
Ukraine has the right to defend itself. And the international community has the right to support them in this. The right to self-defense is enshrined in the UN Charter. We are committed to upholding the UN Charter and helping Ukraine to defend itself.
But for Switzerland it is about neutrality. The basic principle of neutrality is that in a conflict you cannot supply arms to just one side. Do you think neutrality is outdated today?
But this is not about neutrality. It is about the right to self-defence, which is enshrined in the UN Charter. It’s about protecting the UN Charter. And it’s not about two equal pages. It is about an aggressor and a victim of aggression.
Do you think that NATO countries will stop buying weapons and ammunition in Switzerland if they cannot use them and deliver them to Ukraine?
These are national decisions that have to be made.
But what do you hear from the NATO countries?
The NATO countries are trying very hard to support Ukraine because it is about saving lives. You see the brutal attacks again and again, just a few days ago in Dnipro, where a block of buildings with many apartments was attacked.
Ukraine has the right to defend itself.
There are always deliberate attacks against critical civil infrastructure, power plants, power grid. And President Putin has shown no signs of preparing for peace. So our military support saves lives. And, of course, NATO allies are keen to ensure they can provide support.
The conversation was led by Sebastian Ramspeck.